# bref
## Franco-Provençal
### Etymology

From Latin brevis.

### Adjective

bref (feminine bréva, masculine plural brefs, feminine plural bréves) (ORB, broad)
* brief

### References

* bref in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

## French
### Etymology

From Old French brief, from Latin brevis. A folk etymology derives it as an acronym of Bon, Revenons-En aux Faits, but this is completely inaccurate.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bʁɛf/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

bref (feminine brève, masculine plural brefs, feminine plural brèves)
* brief (of short duration)
    Il lui envoya un bref message de quelques lignes seulement.He sent her a brief message of only a few lines.

#### Derived terms

* dans les plus brefs délais
* en bref

### Adverb

bref
* (informal) in short, in brief, briefly
    Je vous ai déjà dit que cela ne se peut, que cela ne doit pas être ; bref, je ne le veux pas.I have already told you that that cannot be, that it must not be; in short, I do not want it.

### Further reading

* “bref”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* breef, breve, brefe, breefe

### Etymology

Borrowed from Old French brief, and its feminine form brieve, from Latin brevis, form Proto-Italic *breɣʷis, from Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus. Doublet of mery.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /breːf/, /ˈbreːv(ə)/

### Adjective

bref (plural and weak singular breve)
* concise (having a short word-count)
* brief (short, ephemeral or quick)
* (rare) diminutive, little
* (rare) stupid

#### Derived terms

* brevely

#### Descendants

* English: brief
* Fingallian: brief
* Scots: brief

#### References

* “brẹ̄f, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-09.

### Noun

bref (plural brefes)
* A message, especially one that gives approval or authorises.
* brief (writ, summons)
* A written text or part of one acting as a record.
* (rare, music) breve (double whole note)

#### Descendants

* English: brief, breve
* Scots: brief, brieve, breef, briefe

#### References

* “brẹ̄f, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-09.

## Old French
### Etymology

From Latin brevis.

### Noun

bref oblique singular, m (oblique plural bres, nominative singular bres, nominative plural bref)
* Alternative form of brief

## Swedish
### Noun

bref n
* Obsolete spelling of brev.

## Welsh
### Etymology

From the verbal base of brefaf / brefu (“to bleat, bellow, bray”), from Proto-Brythonic *brėβ̃ɨd (“to make noise”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /breːv/
* Rhymes: -eːv

### Noun

bref m (plural brefau or brefion)
* a bleat, low, bellow, bray, roar, cry

#### Derived terms

* brefu (“to bleat, to bellow, to bray, to cry”)
* Hydref (“October”)

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### References

* R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “bref”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
* Cheung, Johnny (2007) Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 2), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 24